WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) issued the following statement on his vote against the House-passed budget in the Senate this evening:
"A budget is an outline of our priorities as a nation. It shows what we think is important and what we as a nation should invest in. I voted against the Republican Budget because the outlined priorities are wrong. I don't believe that New Mexicans want to end Medicare as we know it and prioritize tax cuts for the wealthy. Instead, our budget should focus on creating jobs.
"There is no disagreement that we need to get serious about reducing the deficit. But even after ending the Medicare program we depend on today, this plan does very little to reduce our national debt. That's because it cuts taxes for the wealthiest Americans to the lowest levels in 80 years.
"In addition, the Ryan budget puts the entire burden of reducing the deficit on senior citizens, students and middle-class families. The changes to Medicare would force New Mexico seniors to pay thousands of dollars more in out-of-pocket costs and put insurance company bureaucrats in charge of seniors' healthcare.
"I don't agree with those priorities and I don't believe the people of New Mexico do either."
